Container closure



June l2, 1962 G. WIECKMANN CONTAINER CLOSURE Filed Sept. 18, 1956 United States Patent O 3,038,624 CONTAINER CLOSURE Gerhard Wieckmann, Ohrngen, Wurttemberg, Germany, assignor to Karl Huber, Blechwarenfabrik, Ohrmgen, Wurttemherg, Germany, a firm of Germany Filed Sept. 18, 1956, Ser. No. 610,475

Claims priority, application Germany Sept. Z2, 1955 3 Claims. (Cl. 21S-41) The present invention relates to improvements in closures for bottles, glasses, and similar containers.

Prior to this invention it has been known to provide the caps for bottles, glasses and the like with resilient inserts, such as washers or rings, for increasing the sealing action thereof. Such inserts were generally provided if the cap itself did not provide a sealing action, that is, in those cases in which the cap consisted of hard or rigid materials such as metals, glass, synthetic resin or the like. This had the disadvantage that the closure had to consist of two parts which had to be manufactured independent-ly of each other.

It is now an object of the present invention to provide a cap or closure which fulfills all the purposes of a twopart closure but only consists of a single element, and which is adapted to accomplish an adequate sealing action even though the cap itself may not be applied for that purpose.

It has also been known prior to this invention to make such caps or closures of resilient synthetic materials and to provide them on their inside with a funnel-like projection or skirt which forms a unitary portion of the cap and Ihas a wall strength of gradually increasing thickness from the bottom of the cap. This projection was made of a size so as to extend into the mouth of the bottle to be closed, and its outer surface abutted at least partly on Ithe inside of the bottle neck. Such a cap could seal the inside of the container safely only if the outer diameter of the funnel-like insert corresponded at least within a certain area to the inner diameter of the opening of the bottle neck. The pressure from the inside of the bottle would then expand the pluglike projection so that the latter would cling tothe inside of the bottle neck. vIf there were any minor deviations in size, a proper sealing action could not be attained. Either the diameter of lthe projection was `smaller than that of the inner wall of the container near its mouth, `in which case the projection would not -seal at all, or -the diameter of the projection within a certain area was slightly larger than that of the inner wall of the mouth of the container, in which case folds would form which likewise prevented a proper sealing action.

It is another object of the invention to` provide a cap or closure which` will overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages of the known closures, and a feature of the invention for accomplishing the foregoing objects consists in making the maximum diameter of the funnellike projection or skirt of a size larger than the maximum inner diameter of the container to be sealed, for example, of the neck opening of a bottle.

Further objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will appear lfrom the following detailed description thereof, particularly when read with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- FIG. 1 shows a cross section through a crown-seal bottle which is sealed by a cap according to the present invention; while FIG. 2 shows a cross section through a bottle with a screw-threaded neck which is closed and sealed by a cap according to the invention.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, the bottom 1 of a cap 2 is provided with a funnel-like projection or skirt 3,

Ffice the diameter of which gradually increases in the direction away from -bottom 1, while the wall thickness thereof gradually decreases in the same direction. The outer diameter d of skirt 3 within the `area of the bottom 1 of the cap is therefore smaller than the outer diameter D of the skirt at the end opposite to bottom 1. When the cap is not applied to a bottle, this outer 4diameter D of skirt 3 as indicated in dotted lines in FIG. 1, is larger than the maximum inner diameter of the bottle neck.

FIG. 2, illustrates =a screw cap 4 with a funnel-like skirt 3 of a shape similar to skirt 3 in FIG. 1.

If a cap of this type is either pressed or screwed upon a bottle or similar container, the :funnel-like skirt 3 or 3 will be deformed and turned inside out to an extent depending upon the diameter of the opening of the respective bottle to be sealed. I'f the diameter of the bottle opening is langer than the diameter d, the inner surface of skirt 3 will cling -to the inner wall of the bottle mouth, as shown in FIG. l. If, however, the diameter of the bottle opening is smaller than the diameter d of the skirt, the inner surface thereof will engage with the upper end surface of the bottle, as shown in FIG. 2.

While the caps with separate sealing means have previously been made of hard material in order to prevent the cap, for example, a screw `ca from becoming deformed by the strong pressure of the sealing element upon the edge of the bottle neck, the caps according to the present invention may be made either of resilient or pliable material. Consequently, the cost of production of such caps will be considerably lower than that of the known types of bottle caps, and bursting, breaking, or splitting of the caps as easily occurred on those made of synthetic resins will be safely avoided. As shown in the drawings, an annular air chamber will be formed be- .tween the bottom and the funnel-like skirt of the cap or between the bottom and the edge of the neck of a bottle or similar container when applied thereon. This air chamber serves as an air Acushion and will increase the sealing action.

If skirt 3 is deformed in the manner as shown in FIG. l so that the inner surface of the skirt clings to the inside of the bottle mouth, the sealing -action will be increased by the inclination of the skirt to return to its normal or `starting position. Because of its expansion, no folds or creases will form on the skirt within the area of its sealing surface.

Even though my invention has been illustrated and described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, I wish to have it understood that it is in no way limited to the details of such embodiments, but is capable of numerous modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim is:

l. In combination, a container having a circular outlet portion of given outer diameter with an annular end face and an inner face of given diameters, and a closure member being made of resiliently yielding material and including la central body portion surrounded by a rim portion adapted to engage the outside face of said outlet portion, a -skirt portion projecting from 'the inner surface of said central body portion, the diameter of said skirt portion increasing so as to flare `outwardly and its wall thickness decreasing toward the free edge thereof, the ou-ter diameter of said skirt portion at its root being smaller Ithan the given inner diameter of said outlet portion, and the inner diameter of said skirt portion at its free edge being larger than the inner diameter of said outlet portion, said closure member being positioned in said outlet portion of said container with its skirt portion being at least partly turned inside out, abutting with a surface area of its originally inner face under sealing pressure against at least one of said faces of said outlet portion of said container.

2. The combination as claimed in claim 1, said skirt portion engaging With a surface area of its originally inner face under sealing pressure at least said annular end face of said outlet portion of said container.

3. The combination as claimed in claim 1, said skirt portion engaging with `a surface area of its originally inner face under sealing pressure at least said inner face of said outlet portion of said container.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,266,270 Roth Dec. 16, 1941 4. FOREIGN PATENTS 1,030,600 lFrance Mar. 18, 1953 1,060,557 France Nov. 18, 1953 1,093,979 France Dec. 1, 1954 64,034 France May 11, 1955 (1st addition of No. 1,064,521) 64,824 France July 6, 1955 (1st addition of No. 1,092,430) 788,148 Great Britain Dec. 23, 1957 OTHER REFERENCES Shackleton abstract of application Serial Number 743,- 769, published November 22, 1949, in O.G. vol. 628, page 1201. 

